He made the announcement on Saturday after what he called a great deal of reflection.

Mr Vaile represented the area for 15 years in parliament which followed eight years representing much of the electorate in local government.

This now means Lyne is heading for a by-election, possibly in late August.

The vote is likely to be scheduled on the same day as the Mayo be-election which has been necessitated by MP Alexander Downer’s resignation.

In a statement, Mr Vaile reflected on his career and his plans for the future.

“Having grown up here, I have seen a great deal of change as a school boy, as a jackeroo, as a small businessman, as the local deputy mayor and ultimately as a federal member and deputy prime minister of Australia representing the area that I know and love so much,” he said.

“Firstly, I'd like to say that I could not have achieved any of the things I have for our electorate or Australia without the love, support and ongoing commitment of my wife Wendy and our three daughters Terri, Prue and Sarah. I'd also like to thank most sincerely my electorate staff.

“Through all my years in public life, this community has put its faith in me and I have very much appreciated their considerable endorsement at every election.

“Locally, we have achieved an enormous amount together.

“Hundreds of millions of dollars has been spent upgrading the Pacific Highway through our electorate, more than 2000 local jobs have been created as a result of federal government programs or government agencies moving to our area.

“I have always said it's the greatest honour to have been elected as the member for Lyne and would have been proud to have served only in that capacity for my entire parliamentary career.